Genesis

The Genesis known as the Mega-Drive in Japan and Europe, is a video game console created by Sega and released in Japan in 1988, and in the USA in 1989. I never owned a Genesis, but a couple of my friends did. In general, I liked how attractive the games looked, but, overall, found the game library to be less fun than the NES.

I think my major hangup for the bulk of the system's library is that the designers were too focused on stage-based games, which I don't enjoy as much. Stage-based games make sense in the arcade where players don't expect a long-term commitment, but for a home console, I prefer games that take you into a different world like The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, or Shadowgate. This isn't to say the Genesis didn't have adventure games and RPGs, but when you look at people's list of favorite games for the system they're mostly stage-based platformers like Sonic the Hedgehog, stage-based scrolling-shooters like Thunderforce, or various sports games. I rarely enjoy sports games, and while I do enjoy some stage-based games, they don't have the same allure to me.